Spring Gardening To Do List With Printable Checklist
Spring gardening…is there a time of the year when gardening holds more excitement and hope than Spring? Even when it’s too cold to plant, we’re itching to get outside and do something. That’s where our Spring Gardening Checklist comes in handy! We’ve compiled a list of 10 Spring gardening tasks to start the gardening year off right.
Why should you spring clean your garden?
Spring cleaning the garden is not just a fun excuse to get busy in the early days of Spring. It’s a crucial time to set the garden off on the right foot, avoiding problems later in the season and giving your plants (and hard work!) their best chance.
For starters, winter can leave a bit of a mess around your perennials and in your beds. This mess not only looks bad, it can be a breeding ground for pests and disease. Leaf litter, along with with perennials that have died back, need cleaned up and trimmed back.
Spring clean up is also a great time to assess your garden when it’s a blank slate. Are there any unfinished projects that need attention? Damage from winter? Perennials that you’d like to move to another part of the yard? Now is the time to get them done, before the busyness of the growing season arrives.
In addition to those early spring chores, I’ve compiled a list of 10 items that should be added to the Garden To Do List every Spring. We break them down below, but if you’d like a handy dandy printable version of this checklist, you can find the link to download at the bottom of this post.
Spring Gardening Checklist
- Cleaning up from winter. As I mentioned above, cleaning up from winter is an important Spring task. Decaying leaves and dead plant material can harbor a whole host of pests and diseases, and removing them from the area goes a long way in keeping them under control. Clipping back spent perennials, like hostas, is a good idea, too. The new growth will emerge from the surface in a few short weeks!
- Add a fresh layer of aged compost to beds, and around plants. Compost is a powerhouse in the garden, and should be added every few months for optimal soil and plant health. In Spring, plants can benefit from the nutrient boost just as they’re starting to wake up and begin a season of growth. Sprinkle some compost around each shrub or perennial, and add a fresh layer to your vegetable beds.
- Prune trees and shrubs. I’m cheating a little by adding this to the list, because *technically* the best time to prune is late winter. But if you’re new to pruning, let’s go for simplicity’s sake. Add it to the Spring Gardening Checklist, and try to get to it before buds start forming on your trees and shrubs. You can do a light pruning for shape, but if you’d like to take it a bit further, I recommend checking out https://www.almanac.com/content/pruning-guide-trees-shrubs
- Divide and move perennials. Spring is an excellent time to divide and move perennials, before they’re actively growing. Moving in the spring also allows them to reestablish their root systems before the heat of summer, easing stress on the plant. Perennials like hostas, bearded iris, ferns, daylily, coneflowers and peonies can all be divided and moved around the garden in the Spring.
- Add fresh mulch to beds. Once you’re done cleaning up debris and moving perennials around, it’s time to add a fresh layer of mulch! Mulch breaks down over time. Your plants will thank you for a light fresh layer every spring, and your eyes will thank you when you step back and see how much cleaner and fresher your beds look!
- Clean up patio furniture. Now that you’re done working in your garden beds, it’s time to hit the patio! When bringing your furniture out of storage, give it a good wipe down before a season of use begins. It’s also a great time to check for any repairs that are needed, and make those as necessary.
- Inventory tools. Inventory is a good start to any big task, and a season of gardening is no exception! Take note of any tools that are broken or missing, and replace them before the season begins. Don’t forget to sharpen any cutting tools or trimmers, as well.
- Clean out bird feeders. This should be done on a regular basis, anyway, but Spring is a good idea for some deep cleaning. Use hot, soapy water to clean the inside and outside of plastic or metal bird feeders. An old toothbrush is handy to clean out crevices. Be sure to rinse and dry thoroughly before adding fresh birdseed and hanging outside.
- Insert supports for top heavy plants. Plants like peonies require staking to keep them upright, but it’s a heck of a time getting the peony rings on when the plants have been growing for awhile. *don’t ask me how I know* Add the support rings now, and train your plants to grow through the rings as they grow taller.
- Start your garden journal for the year. If you’re a part of my email list, you have access to my FREE planner pages. You may have even upgraded to the Ultimate Garden Planning Pages bundle. Either way, now is the time to start your garden journal for the year. Take notes as things grow, pests come and go, harvests happen, and surprises pop up. A garden journal is an invaluable resource as you look back over the years and remember what worked and what didn’t, and see your growth as a gardener. It’s also a great place to keep track of wishlists, garden plans, and goals for the future. I highly, highly recommend starting one, if you’ve never kept a garden journal before. (Which is why my first printables I created and shared were Garden Planner printables! You can get my FREE set here: https://tremendous-knitter-8234.ck.page/ec5ee13802
You’ve made it to the end of the list! It’s time to grab the printable Spring Garden Checklist below and head on out to the garden! Tackle a couple items at a time as the weather allows, and before you know it, your garden will be in top shape and ready for a beautiful season!
Happy Growing!
